When considering a move to a Canadian community or region, perhaps you should ask, "How Canadian is it?"

Canadian-owned corporations are a vanishing element in many local economies. Foreign purchases of Canadian companies shift perspectives, and possibly even employment, outside the country.

If you're searching for a strong Canadian presence in a location you'd like to call home, zero in on educational institutions like colleges and universities. While furthering their own long-term goals for growth and development, these organizations are usually intent on enriching neighbouring communities and boosting the region.

Dunsmuir's elevated construction enables tree-top living

Colleges and universities often provide local contributions beyond their education mandates. Although these institutions reach out to researchers and educators around the world, they do so from a strong local foundation. Many universities and most community colleges have satellite campuses—some quite far flung—that extend economic and employment benefits beyond the main campus and large urban centres. These organizations, which are significant landowners, employers and economic centres, warrant investigation when considering a community for your next home, as the following two examples demonstrate:

• The University of Guelph leased 110 prime acres of its land to a pioneering private developer intent on creating an adult lifestyle housing project that fostered forward-thinking living based on continued involvement in university cultures. The Village by the Arboretum, which takes its name from the adjacent on-campus 500-acre green space, today houses over 900 residents in homes that range from single-family houses and condominiums to assisted living units. The on-site medical facility adds another community connection: "The doctors who practice from the Village by the Arboretum Medical Centre serve both the citizens of Guelph, Ontario, as well as residents of the Village by the Arboretum active-living community."

• The University of Victoria, with its main campus situated in the provincial capital city of the same name, fulfills its role as employer and communication centre with commitment beyond typical business standards. In 1985, the University purchased and dramatically renovated a unique 100 acre property in a rural area approximately 22 kilometers north of its campus. A failed business venture and the lack of a buyer had caused hardship for the previous owner and loss of employment in the area. The University researched possible uses for the real estate that would preserve the park-like setting. As a result, the existing building was dramatically renovated to create a state-of-the-art conference centre.

A closer look at our second example reveals the range of possible university-community interconnections.

Opened in 1987, the Dunsmuir Lodge Executive Training & Conference Centre cleverly combines the pleasures of a rural setting with the sophistication of an internationally-renowned conference centre. Guests have included Prime Ministers, Secretaries of State, Foreign Ministers, and government and business leaders from around the world.

General Manager Bill Graham outlined the Lodge's numerous ongoing connections to adjacent rural communities and their residents:

• Dunsmuir serves as a local meeting place and celebrates area accomplishments. It hosts a continuing education program designed for community residents. Each month, artistic works by a different area artist are on display.

• Executive Chef Candace Hartley maintains ties with more than 40 local farms: "Every day, there is a parade of farmers coming up to the Lodge with fruit and vegetables picked that morning. We use local lamb and local fish markets, so, in that way, we support local industry in terms of the farming community."

• The policy is to recruit staff locally and to offer those starting their careers "good training so they can move on from the Lodge." Two thirds of the 65 employees live in the area. Graham feels the local hiring commitment contributes to the quality of service.

• The Conference Centre also functions as a 45-room hotel with a five-star dining room that may be better known in Vancouver than Victoria: "The University wants us to maintain a low profile in that regard so that [Dunsmuir] is not perceived by the local food and beverage and hospitality industry to be in competition with them…We will operate at much less than capacity in summer when we could get a premium for bedrooms and the meeting business dies down. We are open to the public, but do not promote that fact. It is difficult in maximizing revenue and making a contribution back to the University. There are very few properties like this in Canada that have that philosophy and exclude a part of their market in order to be community minded."

View of Sidney-by-the-Sea and Gulf Islands